A New Family
by skycandel
Summary: So, where did Daryl hear the Cherokee Rose story? Did he read it somewhere or did someone tell him the story? Why did he look so comfortable holding Judith and feeding her. Did he ever have a younger sibling? Was he an uncle? A dad? Or is he just a natural? This story contains pre-apocalypse and post apocalypse time periods. Warning, some of the content may be disturbing to some.


**Chapter 1**

_"American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure, disease, and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose started to grow where the mothers' tears fell."_

Katherine loved that story. They told it every time a new person came to the meeting. This time it was a couple who had lost their son after a long battle with leukemia. The husband wrapped his arm around his sobbing wife. You could see how hard he was trying to choke back his own tears; he was strong, for her.

After the meeting Katherine took one of her pins out of her bag and walked up to the couple, trying to catch them before they scurried off.

"Hi, excuse me." Katherine said as she tapped the grieving mother. She turned around her eyes rimmed red and wet. Her husband turned beside her.

"Um, Hi, I'm Katherine, you can call me Kat, everyone does. I just wanted to introduce myself and give you something."

Kat held out one of her crocheted flower pins. It was white with a yellow center.

"It's my version of the Cherokee Rose, like in the story. I make them; I like to wear mine to remember Emma."

The mousey, sad, woman took the flower.

"Thank you, I'm sorry about your daughter…how...d-did…she…"

Kat interrupted "Crib death, she passed peacefully in her sleep. She was two months old. Some of the others say I'm lucky I didn't have to watch her suffer and that I didn't have her longer…" Her breath caught but she completely regained control. "Anyways, welcome to the group, I hope you come back. It really does help knowing you are not alone."

The couple said "Thank you" nearly in unison turned and left.

On her way home Kat thought about the couple. How nice it was for the father to be there_. Hell, I wish he would come to these meetings with me. Or even acknowledge the fact we had a daughter._

Before she even entered the small dilapidated trailer she knew where he'd be.

Kat put her purse on the kitchen table and walked out to the living room, she can hear the TV blaring away, Swamp People was on. _Great, play up the stereotype, Daryl. And there he is in all his glory. _

Daryl was reclining in his chair in the same shirt he wore the day before and dirty jeans. He lifted up his beer and took a long drink as he looked at her staring at him. That disapproving, judgmental stare of disgust he was starting to get used to.

"Looks like you've been productive today." Kat started picking up the empty bottles and full ashtrays.

"Where you been, Kat? You were s'posed to be off work three hours ago."

"I had support, I told you." Katherine carried the bottles to the kitchen and emptied the ash trays. She called out to him "Did you go to that interview today?"

Daryl let out a frustrated sigh "No, I overslept." He braced himself, he heard the bottles crash in the trash can and things slamming around. She came around the corner with fire in her eyes.

"Maybe if you didn't drink so much you'd wake up at a decent hour. What the hell is wrong with you? I don't make enough to pay the bills. The check to light bill bounced. Did you know that?" Daryl just looked at her picked up his back of Marlboro's and fished out a cigarette.

"Look, I'm trying. I just over slept today and…"

Kat interrupted "Ya, like you did last week for Hank's Auto. You don't give fuck do you?"

At this Daryl stood up. "Maybe if you would pick up an extra shift instead of going to those damn meetings or coming home to make those stupid pins of yours we'd be doing a little better 'till I'm back ta workin' "

"Those meetings HELP, and my flowers are not stupid, they give the others HOPE knowing that life will go on. Maybe if you attended ONE meeting you'd see that." Tears were trying to force their way out despite trying to blink them away and her cheeks were getting hot. He stepped towards her, but then walked around towards the kitchen.

"They're a waste of time, Kat." He pulled a beer from the fridge and slammed it shut.

"NO! It is not a waste of time to remember her. It is not a waste of time to mourn for her. "Daryl started to walk past her and stopped.

"I'm not sayin' that, I'm saying those damn meetings and making those damn flowers are a waste of time."

Katherine pushed Daryl at his shoulders into the wall making him spill some of his beer.

"She was OURS; she was perfect we could've been happy..." Daryl pushed her back and leaned in. His free hand pushing against her collar bone his forehead almost touching hers. She can smell the beer on his breath and feel the heat of anger coming off of him.

In a low angry voice "If she was so damn perfect, why'd she die for no reason, huh?" Kat slapped him, hard, on his left cheek. Through clenched teeth almost in a whisper "If you want to drink her memory away, fine, get the hell out of here and do it" Daryl threw his beer down , it burst, spewing beer across the floor. He pushed off her and stormed towards the back of the trailer to their bedroom. Daryl pulled a duffle bag out of the back of the closet and started shoving clothes off the floor and from the dresser into it. He grabbed his crossbow from behind his night stand and left the room. Kat was on the floor with paper towels cleaning up the beer, sobbing. She glared at him. He shouldn't have said what he did, he didn't like hurting her. He was just so damn angry. He stepped over her grabbed his keys off the wall hook.

"Where are you going?" Her voice barely audible.

"I'm joinin' up with dad at the deer camp, might be back Sunday night." He stumbled out slamming the door behind him. The door bounced back open he heard her yelling and sobbing he thought he heard her say "I don't need you back you worthless asshole." That hurt, but it was true. He backed the truck up and headed out thinking of how their lives used to be. Dirt poor, but happy and in love. Even when she was pregnant he was scared shitless, but he knew they would be ok as long as they were together. They were tough. They were going to get married eventually, but she didn't want to have a big belly at her wedding. So they waited. Emma came in to the world crying a good loud cry. She ate, slept, and pooped. They were happy and becoming a normal family. After finding her in her crib that morning everything changed. They mourned together, they both became depressed. Only difference was she found a support group, he found the bottle. Looking at the mountain range far ahead he wondered why they couldn't have gotten through this together.

**Chapter 2**

The present.

As long as the Governor was alive and knew where they were, the prison was no longer safe. They had loaded up the vehicles and decided to go towards the mountains. Hoping the lack of population would mean fewer walkers. Over the past week on the road they lost a child and a couple of seniors from Woodbury. Karen had gotten bit on a supply run a few days ago. They were almost back down in numbers to where they started out before the prison. They were about 5 miles outside of Toccoa when they decided to make camp. Rick didn't want to go through the town this close to dark. Daryl and Glenn got some fire wood from the nearby cluster of trees. The fire was quick to start; the wood was dried out from the lack of rain.

Maggie scanned the highway looking for adequate cover without being too far away from the group. Boy, did she have to pee.

"I gotta go. Carol, watch my back?" The two women crossed the median. Maggie found a vehicle to squat behind while Carol watched the shoulder. As the wind picked up a white object on the asphalt caught her eye. She went over to it and picked it up. A dirty flower made of yarn with a metal pin attached to it. Carol thought it looked sort of like the Cherokee Rose Daryl had given her when he was looking for Sophia. She smiled to herself and pinned it to her shirt. Maggie came up behind her.

"What's that?"

"It's pretty, don't you think?" Maggie fingered it gently "It's pretty worn, but I guess." Carol laughed.

"Well, I think it's gorgeous" She giggled some more. Whatever it was meant to be it could mean something new for her. As Maggie and Carol walked back to the group they can smell spam wafting through the air. Maggie crinkled her nose at the stench looked at Carol and laughed, "Well dinner smells about ready"

The group huddled around the fire talking about nothing of importance with the exception of Daryl, Glenn, Michonne and Rick were keeping watch of the perimeter. Glenn walked over to Rick

"Hey I think we should switch out so we can get something to eat?"

"Ya, sounds good. Daryl, Michonne, let's grab something to eat".

Daryl walked over to where Carl and Carol were. "Your turn, com'on" Carol stood up and did a mock curtsy making Daryl smile.

"Whoa, hold up. Where'd you get that?" He was already trying to get it off her shirt when she tried to reply.

"I-I found it over there on the road, what's wrong?" Daryl finally freed the pin and bent close to the fire turning it over in his hands over and over. He just kept examining it.

"Daryl, what is it?" She touched his shoulder and bent down next to him, everyone had stopped talking and watching with confused looks on their faces. Daryl was still turning the flower over he didn't answer. Carol glanced at Rick who took it as his cue to come over and see what was going on.

"Daryl? …Daryl?" Daryl looked up his eyes were wet, but the tears not breaching.

"Uh…She used to make these flowers….she…she made them for the parents…." His voice caught in his throat. He tried to gulp his words back down.

"Who?" Rick knelt down and shifted his balance to stay steady. "Who?"

"Kat."

"Who the hell is Kat?" Glenn, like the others had been watching and listening.

"My girlfriend… er...Fiancé I guess..." Daryl's voice was soft and sad.

"You, were engaged?" Glenn didn't really laugh but you could hear the astonished humor in his voice.

"I had a fuckin' life before all this you know? What'd you think just me and Merle kings of a trailer park drinkin' beer all day scratchin' our balls on lawn chairs?" Well, it's not far from the truth but what the hell did any of them know?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that…Y-you just never mentioned anyone other than Merle."

"I figured her dead." Daryl fell back on his ass and rested his arms on his knees as he turned the flower in his hands between them. Everyone who was standing sat down, looking at Daryl. They saw the grief and regret in his face.

"She might be alive" He turned to Carol "If you found this, she might still be alive, she might be close."

Daryl started to get up. "I'm gonna go find her…" Rick gently pushed down on Daryl's shoulder.

"It's dark; if she's alive and close she's probably holed up somewhere. Wait." Daryl looked around. It was dark outside the light of the fire.

"Ya…ya she's smart. She'd be inside somewhere." He looked at the faces around the campfire. They all had the same questions. So he told them. He talked about how they met at a small restaurant she waited tables at, about Emma's birth, death, the fight that separated them before the outbreak.

"I was still huntin' with my dad and some friends when the walkers came around. No cell reception in the mountains. I went back home to get her, but she was gone. Her clothes, and personal stuff, I figured she went with the neighbors, her car was still there, I thought, at the time, she may be safe. So, I went on to find out where everyone was headed, but I had to go get Merle, too." Daryl took a drink of his water.

He looked over at Carol. "When we met up outside of Atlanta and found out we couldn't go in, I thought she had made it there…just to…to get over ran. I figured her dead. Ya'll saw it, it was crazy." Daryl looked up at the others. "I'm going into Toccoa tomorrow. Maybe she tried to get back home… home is only a few miles out on the other side of town."

**Chapter 3**

Almost all the flowers were gone now. Kat lay on the hot roof, she was hungry and dehydrated. Everyone in her small group was dead. They were waiting for her on the street, just waiting to tear her apart. She didn't know the door to the roof would lock when shut, but all she could do was go up. Now she was trapped.

_She looked over at Daryl sitting on his recliner with his dirty clothes, blowing smoke rings, finishing a cold beer._

_"Hey, babe. Why doncha grab me another one?"_

"Screw you."

_"Awww, don't be that way. Com'on , we can take Emma to the park afterwards. She loves the park"_

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, YOU'RE NOT REAL, YOU'RE NOT HERE." Kat squeezed her eyes shut, afraid to open them. She slowly opened her eyes. He was gone. _Good…I haven't lost it completely. _ She rolled over hung her hand over the side of the building and released another flower. It was the only way to keep track of her sanity. If she had a hallucination she'd let go of one. She was releasing them faster though now. Oh, how she needed something to drink. She hadn't had the need to urinate since earlier the previous day…or was it the day before that.

Rick and the group decided to drive closer to the city together. They found a two story wood frame house on a field near the highway. It was out in the open, but if they parked behind the house and stayed inside it provided some cover. There were only a few walkers they had to take out near the building. Other than that it was pretty secluded.

Rick, Daryl, and Michonne headed into Toccoa in the truck.

"Where do we even begin, Daryl?" Rick looked in the review meeting his eyes. Daryl turned his gaze back out the window.

"I saw another on the side of the road when we turned down towards the house. Just follow the flowers." Michonne gave Rick an uncertain glance as if to say _she's probably dead_.

They turned on to Main street they saw a couple of walkers wearing the flowers on their clothes. When they got to a clear enough spot they jumped out. Right away Daryl found a flower on top of a car, and another down the street. They avoided what walkers they could, killed the ones they couldn't. Daryl was going fast. Rick had to tell him repeatedly to slow down.

_Daryl lay beside her on the bed propped up on his side. He rubbed her lips with his thumb._

_"Ya know love you right?"_

_"Ya"_

_"I'm not going to run off."_

_"I know."_

_He glided his hand over her breast down her to her stomach. He leaned over and kissed her._

_"So when will ya start shown'?"_

_"I don't know. A couple months?"_

_"So, is it safe'ta….you know" His hand slips down to her thigh making small circles heading back up. _

_Kat giggled like a school girl. She turned on her side grabs his face in her hands and kisses him. She was still giggling that school girl giggle. His tongue enters her mouth searching for hers. Her fingers thread through his hair while he works his mouth to her neck. She nibbles his ear. They laughed, sighed, and whispered I-love-yous to each other as he pulls her underneath. He enters her slowly. This is making love, she thought. Two people, together not worrying about what life would throw at them. She closes her eyes. _

_Light, ceiling tile, light, ceiling tile. Daryl is holding her hand looking down at her trying to keep up with the nurses._

_"AAAHHHH"_

_"Com'on baby, breath, ya' know like in the movies, he he hoooo he he hoooo" Light, ceiling tile, light ceiling tile_

_"What's happening? What's going on?"_

_"She's comin' she's comin' "_

_Light._

_A nurse in blue scrubs and cap now blocks the light that blinded her._

_"You need to push, Katherine, push….push….push…"_

_Kat pushes she feels like she's about to be ripped apart. PUSH…breath…PUSH._

_"Daryl?!" _

_"I'm down here" Daryl peeks up above the stretched gown between her knees wearing surgical cap and mask, he waves at her. Like a kid would wave at a passing car. It's too comical. "Com'on baby one more"_

_He he hooo PUSH_

_"There we go BOOYAH look at that!" Kat hears the baby cry, but it doesn't sound right. It's thick and full of flim. Daryl holds up the baby one hand on the neck supporting the head the other under butt. Her skin is bluish grey, she has teeth OH! she has teeth, they start to chomp. Chomp chomp. She squirms in his hand, clawing at the air. Chomp chomp._

_"Whoa ho! We have a little biter on our hands; guess you won't be breast feeding this one." Daryl laughs a strange gurgley laugh. He pulls down the surgical mask. His lips are gone exposing brown teeth and part of his jaw. "Isn't she beautiful?" Katherine scoots back on the stretcher in terror; she looks around at the nurses and doctors. One leans in his left eye is missing, a worm wiggles through. "Congratulations, Mom!" Everyone starts laughing, tossing their heads back, flesh falling off their faces exposing reddish purple muscle and white bone._

"NO NO, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN LIKE THAT YOU'RE NOT REAL" Kat jerks up her head off the hot roof only for it to fall back down. She slings her arm with the bag of flowers over the side of the building. Darkness over comes her. She can barely feel the bag slip out of her hand.

Michonne slices through the walker's head easily, when it falls to the ground she sees the plastic bag falling from the roof down the block. , floating down with white specks falling out of it.

"Rick, Daryl" Rick pulls his knife from the walk and turn towards Michonne. She points down the block, the bag hits the ground. Daryl gives one final push into the walker pinning it up against a car. He thrusts his knife up through the jaw, withdraws and turns to see what they are looking at.

**Chapter 4**

The trio start running towards the bag, Daryl looks up and sees an arm hanging over.

"KATHERINE!"

Rick grabs Daryl. "shhhh, come on" he pushes Daryl towards the building. "Hey, we're going to find the entrance to the building, but we got to be careful. We can't help her if we're dead." Daryl nods, then nods at Michonne. His eyes say "Let's do this".

Daryl falls behind Rick and Michonne, shooting the walkers with his crossbow while Rick and Michonne take on the ones closest to them. They find the door and go in, not too many of them shambling around. Rick dives at one to his right bringing down his knife through eye socket of a dead woman. Michonne decapitates two at once; Daryl shoots another to the left.

Rick points at a door with a sign that says "Stairs". " There!" They scramble in the stairwell taking steps two at a time, no walkers, good. Daryl starts to push the bar to open the door.

"Wait, Daryl, you have to prepare yourself for the worse" Rick hold's Daryl's gaze.

"Ya…" He pushes the door open "KAT!" He uses the door stop attached to the door to hold it open. He looks around the roof; he sees a body on the far side its arm hanging over_. It's her, it's got to be her oh no, it's her…_ He runs towards her as he gets close he falls and skids on his knees.

"Is it her?"

Daryl crawls closer, shaking, his breath heavy. It's her. He gingerly hovers over her and puts his ear to her chest. Kat's eyes flutter open and she gasps, making Daryl nearly jump out of his skin. He looks at her face tears falling down his cheeks. She has a gaunt appearance; her lips are cracked and bleeding. Some blisters had formed on her forehead, cheeks, and nose. He lifts her head; she gasps and tries to speak.

"Hey, baby, I'm here, I'm here." The sobs come forth from deep in his chest forcefully. She tries to speak. Daryl leans close putting his ear to her mouth.

"y-you're…..not…..real." Rick shoves a canteen at Daryl nearly hitting his face with it.

"Get her to drink, she's dehydrated." Michonne crouches at Kat's head and slides her hands under Daryl's. She nods at him and starts to lift her up. Michonne slid her hands and forearms down the back of her neck to her shoulders. Daryl unscrews the cap of the canteen, hands shaking; he puts it to her lips the water spills out into her mouth. She chokes her lungs grasp for air. Then she swallows, gulp by gulp until the canteen is empty. Her eyes darting at all their faces before her eyelids betray her and close.

**Chapter 5**

"It's them, they're coming up" Tyrese steps back from the window heads for the door. Carol is already half way out Carl, Glenn, and Maggie behind her.

Rick opens the crew cab door and pulls a pair of feet out; a body of a thin woman emerges with Daryl holding her shoulders. Michonne circles the truck and hollers "WATER! We need water, clear some space, we can put her on the couch." Sasha turns back from the door she was about to exit.

"Come on, get the stuff off the couch, they're bringing someone in."

Herschel lifts himself up from the chair he was sitting in, adjusting his crutches beneath him as he steps back to make room. Sasha has already tossed their bags in the corner and clears the unneeded pillows from the couch. Daryl bursts through the door, backing in Rick following with the rest of her. Daryl stumbles into the coffee table. "Shit, move it" He pushes it side with his leg without waiting for anyone else to scoot it over. He falls into the far corner of the couch, resting Kat's head on his chest; Rick lays her feet on the other end. Carl steps up on to the skewed coffee table, water bottle in hand, and hops over handing it to Daryl nearly dropping it. He puts it to her lips. Nothing.

"Com'on" he gently smacks at her cheeks trying to rouse her. Finely she sucks on the mouth of the bottle gulping as fast as she can. Coughing and gulping coughing...then gulping with more ease and determination. Water spills over her chin and down her neck as she struggles to continue. Her head falls back, eyes open she looks up at Daryl. Gasping from the exertion she looks at him. Darkness comes again.

Hershel sits on the edge of the coffee table and monitors her breathing and pulse.

"We need to try and get her to drink again." Daryl, who had been pacing back and forth, goes over to lift her up and sit beneath her. Carol hands him some water, and they try to get her to drink again. It's much easier this time. Her eyes stay open and she doesn't choke on it.

Judith lets out an angry shriek, stopping Kat in mid drink. "Emma?" Daryl pulls Kat up into a more sitting position.

"No, she's gone, 'member?" Kat twists her body towards Daryl, laying half on him; she raises her hand to his face and touches his hair.

"Is it really you?" She strokes his face, he kisses her palm.

"Ya, it's me." Kat cranes her head to look around the room.

"Who are all these people?"

Hershel leans down and lays his hand on her shoulder.

"Your new family."


End file.
